Cabinet approves interest subvention for ethanol distilleries

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interest subvention of Rs 4,573 crore for new distilleries producing ethanol, which can be used for doping in petrol, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

India will need about 1,000 crore litre of ethanol for doping in petrol by 2030 with a view to cut dependency on imports for meeting oil needs, he said adding that the nation currently has a capacity of 684 crore litres.

He added that the Cabinet approved a modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country for producing first-generation ethanol from feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn and sorghum), sugarcane and sugar beet.